Colo. man says United Airlines has not improved after odor causes precautionary landing

HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. -- United Airlines is at the center of another customer service issue, and the problems happened to passengers heading to Denver.

Highlands Ranch resident, John Murray, says United Flight number 453 was enough for him to get rid of his United Mileage card.

His flight boarded late, and then he says the pilot announced it would be awhile until take off due to weight issues. He realized mid-air that the duration of the flight was longer than the three-hour nonstop ticket he booked. Murray says the pilot then made an alarming announcement.

“The pilot announced that we are experiencing what seems to be fumes in the cabin, and we were going to make a precautionary landing in Texas,” said Murray.

Once they landed in Lubbock, Murray says they were stranded for three hours. He says United only offered them crackers to snack on, and a $150 voucher. But, he says that wasn’t enough to compensate him for the 15-hour long exhausting trip.

“It's very frustrating that 15 hours and endless emotional and physical exhaustion is only worth $150 to an airline. They still don't have a grasp of customer service whatsoever,” said Murray.

United released the following statement to Denver7:  

“We deeply apologize to our customers for their experience while traveling with us on United Flight 453. Our crew elected to divert to Lubbock, Texas, last night after noticing an odor in the cabin and landed safely. We worked to ensure our customers had snacks and beverages while in the gate area at Lubbock, and our customers later departed the airport on a different aircraft, arriving in Denver earlier this morning. We are reaching out to our customers to apologize and offer compensation.”